France says Netanyahu has immunity, will continue working with him

France said on Wednesday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had immunity given his country was not party to the statutes of the International Criminal Court that has sought his arrest, and Paris would continue working closely with him. France has taken almost a week to come up with a clear position on the matter, since the court in The Hague issued arrest warrants on Nov. 21. After flip-flopping, on Wednesday the ministry said France would respect its international obligations, it being understood that the Rome Statute that established the ICC provided that a country cannot be required to act in a manner incompatible with its obligations "with respect to the immunities of States not party to the ICC."The French ministry statement, referring to what it called the historic friendship between two democracies committed to the rule of law, said France intended to continue to work closely with Netanyahu and other Israeli authorities "to achieve peace and security for all in the Middle East." (